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Main witness of Sabeen Mahmud’s murder shot dead in Karachi

Police say Ghulam Abbas, Sabeen's part-time driver, was shot dead after an altercation with an unidentified man

Faraz Khan September 07, 2015

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

KARACHI: A driver of Sabeen Mahmud, the slain director and founder of The Second Floor (T2F) café, was shot dead in Korangi area of Karachi on Monday evening.

According to initial details, Ghulam Abbas, who lived in Korangi, was shot dead by unidentified armed men in Bhittai Colony, within the limits of Ibrahim Hyderi police station.

Abbas, in addition to working part-time as a driver for Sabeen, was also an employee of the anti-corruption department.

However, DSP Rao Iqbal said that Abbas had been meeting with two people for the past two days. He was meeting the same people outside his house on Monday when a third person approached them who, after an altercation, killed Abbas.

Read: T2F director Sabeen Mahmud shot dead

DSP Iqbal said that while they were probing all possibilities, it looks like Abbas was killed over some personal matter. He added that they were checking Abbas' call and SMS records to see who he was corresponding with.

Read: Saad Aziz confesses to Sabeen's murder for holding Valentine's Day rally

Abbas was a prime witness to Sabeen’s murder in April 2015. He was sitting in the backseat of the car when she was shot dead by two armed men. It was Abbas who had then driven Sabeen, and her injured mother, to hospital for treatment after the attack.

COMMENTS (12)

ishrat salim | 9 years ago | Reply @Bushra: Again, it is not the duty of the Rangers to protect any witness. Since this crime is being investigated by the Police, it is the duty of the Police investigation agency to protect the witness not the Rangers.Update yourself.

Khan | 9 years ago | Reply The presence of Rangers will bring peace in Karachi? It will never happen, they haven't brought peace in 2 decades.

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Sara | 9 years ago | Reply @Acorn Guts: It is "realistically vey possible" to ensure protection of a key witness in a major murder case.

Bushra | 9 years ago | Reply @Ishrat salim: Maybe you should know the duty of Rangers. Their duty is on the borders, not tackling crime in a city. But since they have been given the authority to do a lot of what the Police should be doing, they should have had the sense of ensuring protection of a KEY WITNESS in a major case.

Ishrat salim | 9 years ago | Reply @Bushra: First, it is not the responsibility of the Rangers to give protection to the witness but Police. You must know the duties & responsibilities of the Rangers before commenting. So, please request to refrain from giving sweeping statement.

Milind | 9 years ago | Reply @Acorn Guts - Please have some sense of proportion... If you're in UK and a key witness to a crime, chances are you would be protected and not shot dead. You can move & breathe freely in UK.

Acorn Guts | 9 years ago | Reply Wow, so much hate in comments. It is realistically impossible to guarantee safety of each and every individual, I live in UK and I'm not guaranteed my life even over here! If you look at the bigger picture there is absolutely no denying that security situation has improved many times over. No doubt, and I'm a neutral observer. May the departed rest in peace

nadeem | 9 years ago | Reply Lay men like me could have predicted that the key witness is a potential target. But the 'professionals' are flabbergasted: 'who could have guessed that the perpetrators will try to eliminate the key witness?' they ask cluelessly.

Hkk | 9 years ago | Reply A country run by the army has no laws at all

Emad | 9 years ago | Reply ISI bashing without evidence is about to start

Bushra | 9 years ago | Reply The presence of Rangers is a joke if they cannot protect a key witness.

Salim | 9 years ago | Reply ... and law and order has improved according to them. If real culprits are allowed to operate, or hide, or take a break, while all energy is spent on targeting 1 political party, the claims of law and order improvement become a huge farce.

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